For many people, WhatsApp is the primary way to communicate with friends and family, and WhatsApp is also the first way to communicate with customers by companies and customer service representatives, but how can you protect an app you use so much? Here’s how to secure your WhatsApp account.
How to secure your WhatsApp account
Set up two-step verification
Two-step verification is the best step you can take to protect your WhatsApp account. Usually called 2FA, when you enable two-step verification, WhatsApp adds a second layer of protection to your account.
Once binary authentication is enabled, you’ll have to write a six-digit PIN to sign in to your WhatsApp account.
Even if your phone is stolen or someone uses a way to steal your SIM card, they won’t be able to access your WhatsApp account.
To enable 2-step verification, open the WhatsApp app on your iPhone or Android. Go to Settings> account> double-step verification, and then click Enable.
On the next screen, type your six-digit PIN, click Next, and then confirm your PIN on the next screen.
Next, type in the email address you want to use to reset your PIN if you forget it, or click “Skip.” On the next screen, confirm your email address.
Two-step verification has now been enabled. To make sure you don’t forget your six-digit PIN, WhatsApp periodically asks you to type it before you can access the app.
If you forget your PIN, you’ll have to reset it before you can access your WhatsApp account again.
Enable fingerprint lock or Face ID
You may already protect your iPhone or Android using biometrics. As an additional measure, you can protect WhatsApp with a fingerprint or face ID lock as well.
To do this, on your Android phone, open WhatsApp and press the menu button. Next, go to Settings> account> privacy. Scroll to the bottom of the list, and then click “Fingerprint Lock.”
Switch on the “Open with fingerprint” option.
Now, touch the fingerprint sensor on your device to confirm your fingerprint. You can also determine the amount of time before authentication is required after each visit.
On your iPhone, you can use Touch or Face ID (by device) to protect WhatsApp.
To do this, open WhatsApp and go to Settings> account> privacy> lock the screen. Here, switch between the Face ID Request option or the Touch ID Request.
After the feature is enabled, you can increase the duration after which WhatsApp will be locked after each visit. From the default option, you can switch to one minute, 15 minutes, or one hour.
Don’t fall into common scams of attackers
Because WhatsApp is very common in use, there are new scams every day. The only rule you need to remember is not to open any link that has been forwarded to you from an unknown contact;
WhatsApp now includes an easy-to-use “redirect” tag at the top, making it easy to select these messages.
No matter how tempting the offer is, don’t open a link or provide your personal information to any website or person you don’t know on WhatsApp.
Disable automatic group add-on
By default, WhatsApp makes it very easy to add anyone to a group. If you give your number to a sales representative, you may end up in several promotional groups.
You can now stop this issue from the source. WhatsApp has a new setting that prevents anyone from automatically adding you to a group.
To enable this on your iPhone or Android, go to Settings> Account> Privacy> groups, and then click “Nobody.”
If you’ve already joined a group you want to get out of, open the group chat, then click on the group name at the top. On the next screen, scroll down and click “Get out of the group.”
Click “Get out of the group” again for confirmation.
Change your Privacy Settings on WhatsApp
WhatsApp gives you full control over who can view your private information in any context. If you like, you can hide “Your Last Appearance,” “Profile Picture” and “Status” from everyone except your closest friends and family.
To do this, go to Settings> Account> Privacy to change these settings.
Prohibition and reporting
If someone sends you spam or harasses you on WhatsApp, you can easily block it. To do this, open the relevant conversation in WhatsApp, and then click the person’s name at the top.
On your iPhone, scroll down and click “Block Contact”; on Android, click “Block.”
Click “Block” in the pop-up.
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